Chance me...Dartmouth '28

Chance Me / Match Me!
,
1

Hello! I’m a prospective applicant to the Dartmouth c/o 2028. Other universities in which I am interested are Duke and Northwestern. Thank you so much for taking the time to chance me–it is much appreciated!!! :green_heart:

Some of my priorities for college include a small undergrad class size (<10000), close knit student body, good career preparation, lower-level classes are taught by profs (not TAs), and great reputation (essential for careers I’d like to go into).

Upper middle class
US citizen; small city in Indiana
Large public HS (3700 total student population, ~900 per class)
Multiracial woman (Asian/white)
Legacy @ Dartmouth–dad '98

Potential majors: Econ, QSS (quantitative social science)
I’m thinking about going into finance, consulting, etc; eventually, I’d like to get my MBA. So I’m open to any majors that prepare me for that career path.

4.1 UW GPA (A+ is 4.33, A is 4.0, etc)
4.904 W GPA (.096 x # of Honors courses, divided by # of semesters in HS) (.143 for AP/IB classes)
5/~900
Have not taken ACT or SAT yet; received a 1400 on PSAT with no prep work

(IB Diploma track)
AP World
APUSH
AP CSP
AP Art History
AP Gov
IB English
AP Econ
AP Physics I
IB Math AA (took pre-calc last year as a soph)
AP Psych
Hon French IV
Next year I will be finishing my IB curriculum, which will include IB Eng, IB Math, AP/IB French, IB Psych, and AP/IB Physics

Awards/Honors:
USSYP 1st Alternate Delegate
Le Grand Concours Silver Award
National Honor Society & National French Honor Society
AP Scholar Award

State level leadership position in Key Club
Two year president of high school Key Club (10th and 11th)
Student Visionary of the Year Candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, projected to raise at least $25,000
Team member for a Student Visionary of the Year campaign last year; raised $3,400 towards the team total of over $53,000
Summer internship @ a tech entrepreneurial company
Raised $2,517 through self-directed/led service project working with local elementary schools
Student board member of my school district’s education foundation; four students from my high school were selected through an application + interview process
Two years on JV soccer
Econ club member
*Hoping to do another internship this summer

I have a really strong relationship with my physics teacher and a very good relationship with my econ teacher, so I think I’ll ask those two teachers to write my recs.

Schools
Safety - IU & Purdue (hoping for lots of merit aid)
Likely/match - I’ve been having a hard time designating matches for myself…definitely open to suggestions here!
Reach - Dartmouth (probably ED), Duke, Northwestern…open to suggestions here as well!
(I’ve already eliminated West Coast schools because of distance–Stanford is amazing though)

Thank you again for your help!

2

Dartmouth, Duke, and Northwestern are about equally difficult to get into, and are reaches for most everyone. If you identify one as your clear #1, ED may help somewhat.

Since you’ve professed an interest in small(er) schools, have you thought about LACs? Since the ruralness of Dartmouth is not a turn-off, you might consider schools like Williams, Middlebury, Hamilton, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Kenyon, Carleton, Davidson, Colgate. Wesleyan, Vassar, and Amherst are in not-too-tiny towns – less rural. Haverford and Swarthmore are in the Philadelphia burbs.

If you would consider women’s colleges, there are some very fine ones – Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, and Smith are among them. Mount Holyoke might be a match for you.

Getting more into Match territory may include schools like Trinity College (Hartford), Holy Cross, Connecticut College, Denison, Dickinson, Bard, and a slew of others. Lower matches might include schools like Beloit, Wooster, Lawrence, St. Lawrence, Kalamazoo. All of the above are excellent small schools with small classes and prolific student-prof interaction.

It isn’t easy these days for high-stat students to find true, small(ish), private university matches since so many seem bent on protecting yield. Tulane, for instance, would either be a sure thing (ED) or a reach (RD).

2 Likes
3

This is all great info, thank you! I’ll look into LACs more.
I was thinking about my two safeties–IU and Purdue. I am planning on applying to the Kelley business program at IU and Purdue engineering, which both have acceptance rates ~40%. So I suppose those could be considered matches as well.

1 Like
4

IU Kelley could end up being an auto admit for you, and therefore a safety, if you do well on the ACT or SAT. For your interests, I’d pick IU over Purdue.

Prezbucky gave you a good list of schools to research.

2 Likes
5

It is safer to underestimate your chances a little bit than to overestimate them.

Purdue Engineering is – well let’s ask @momofboiler1 if she thinks it could be considered safe for you in-state. Kelley is probably IU’s most competitive program, and fully worthy of that recognition. I think you’d be admitted, but take that with a grain of salt. So – maybe try finding a truer safety.

Edit, to help us pare the options down a bit:

You mentioned not wanting to go all the way out west (CA…) – how far west are you willing to go?

6

In state, I’d say Purdue engineering would be a match.

Here’s the current auto admit criteria for IU:

  • Earned the required test score:
    • a composite ACT score of 30, or
    • an SAT score of 1370 (Evidence-Based Reading & Writing and Math)
  • Earned a cumulative GPA of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale in high school. We will use the highest GPA that is sent to IU Admissions from your official high school transcript. In most cases this is the weighted GPA.
1 Like
7

Danke – I see we were typing our previous posts at about the same time. Jinx. hehe

1 Like
8

This is all good info. I feel confident about being an auto admit at Kelley…GPA is fine and my PSAT already meets the SAT requirement. Thank you for looking into it a bit further for me.

2 Likes
9

I would say as far west as the East Coast is east (if that makes any sense). I know there’s a lot of good options for LACs in Minnesota, as well as WashU in Missouri.

1 Like
10

OP, you say that you are hoping for a lot of merit from Purdue, but you haven’t mentioned $$ otherwise. Can we take it that your family can afford Dartmouth, etc? Any financial constraints, either for affordability or parental approval (some parents will only pay $$ for a name they like)?

Legacy at Dartmouth is good boost, and you are fully qualified, so I ask this gently: besides ticking the boxes, and being the “Ivy” at which you have a good hook, have you spent time getting to know Dartmouth as it would be for you? remember, your father’s experience of Dartmouth will be substantially different than yours.

There is a big hole between “put the bumper sticker on the car” and “start the job”: the four years that you will actually live there and be a part of a fairly small community in a very small place. You might not believe it, but every year we get posts from students who find that they won the prize (ie, the big name college), and are seriously unhappy.

IF you would be happy to go to IU Kelley (which would get you everything you want from a college), then you really don’t need a lot of reach/match/safety schools- only ones that you be a lot more excited about.

1 Like
11

Yes – Macalester, St. Olaf, and Grinnell in addition to the Wisconsin schools and Carleton mentioned previously.

In addition, Cornell College and Luther (Iowa), Gustavus Adolphus (MN), Knox and Augustana (IL) – among others – might be safeties for you, or very low matches.

1 Like
12

Yep, I’m glad you mentioned that. My family and I don’t have any financial contraints…both my parents and grandparents will be contributing to wherever I end up going (for which I am very grateful). I mentioned merit at IU and Purdue because it would be a big draw for attending one of these two schools instead of my three reaches.

I mentioned in my original thread some college factors that are weighing into my decision (see below). I believe Dartmouth best meets all of these criteria.

I definitely recognize that my college experience will be different from my dad’s. I actually think that I’m drawn to Dartmouth for different reasons than him. He was an athlete, in a fraternity, “partied” quite a bit of his way through college. I’m more attracted to the characteristics of Dartmouth that I mentioned previously, as well as its proximity to the outdoors. We hiked the Appalachian Trail last time we were there which was a great time. I just got lucky, in a sense, that he also went to this school. Even if he didn’t go there, I would still have it on my list.

I’m not looking to be an applicant that applies to all the Ivy’s, top UCs, etc, just out of desire to go to a top school. I’m focusing on fit and where I can develop the best career opportunities. Hoping that I can find that dream school!

13

You’ve got an impressive resume. You have as good a chance as anyone to get into Dartmouth ED next year. Go for it.

I think you will probably get in given your willingness to ED, phenomenal gpa, awesome ECs, legacy hook, state of residence and extremely pleasant attitude and personality which comes through in your writing in this forum. And your PSAT without prep translates to a 1500+ SAT with some prep work, based on my experience.

Someone mentioned WashU … I was going to suggest that to you. A short drive home to Indiana, and excellent business major options.

Other suggestions: Rice’s new undergrad business major, U of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Boston College, U Illinois and Georgetown. Illinois’ excellent business school is a match for you … the others are all a little reachy for anyone, but you are a very strong applicant. I realize a couple of these universities are large, and don’t fit your interest in smaller colleges / universities.

I think you are going to have fantastic results next year. Good luck!

2 Likes
14

Wow, thank you for all of this great feedback and advice. I’m going to look further into WashU and UMich…my parents think these would be a good fit as well. I appreciate your help! Happy holidays!

15

Mis-read one of your posts- sorry. Good luck.

1 Like
16

What the heck are you talking about? She only mentioned one Ivy League university. And not a single person that has replied has mentioned any of the other 7 Ivies.

2 Likes
17

Actually I misread one of her post- I thought she said she’s applying to all ivies. Thanks for letting me know.

1 Like
18

Also I think as an Asian female- applying from Indiana, geographically may help you.

1 Like
19

If you decide the study of economics will be your likely direction, then I concur that LACs with strong economics programs should be of interest. This analysis, for example, includes schools such as Bowdoin, Colby and Hamilton: Economics rankings: US Economics Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges | IDEAS/RePEc.

1 Like
20

IF you ED, I think you have a good shot at Dartmouth. Try to get some EC related spikes. Being legacy is a plus. Good luck!

1 Like